Whispers of Avalon
by TheLadyAnne
Summary: Arthur and Merlin are wary when a distant cousin of Morgana's comes to live at Camelot. Once they decide she isn't exactly like her cousin, they begin to enjoy her company. Until Merlin uncovers a secret and learns how their destinies are entwined. R&R!
1. Newcomer

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Merlin or any of the characters, except for the ones I made up

**A/N:** Also, bear with me on this one. I've only seen the first five episodes that have been released in the States, so it may not work out with any of the future episodes.

Chapter 1: Newcomer

"Ahh!"

The skinny dark haired boy fell back, his armor making the fall less graceful than it otherwise could have been. The fair boy grinned at his companion until he saw that the other boy had no intention of getting off the ground anytime soon. A pout now played upon Arthur's face and he glared down at his manservant.

"Merlin, this is the third time in ten minutes. And the first time we weren't even fighting. How can I get any better against a real opponent if you can't even remain upright for thirty seconds?"

Merlin gave his prince a disbelieving look. "You could find someone else to practice on? Like one of the knights or a squire or someone who has previous experience?"

Arthur tisked at his manservant, "But it's YOUR job Merlin."

"Since when?"

"Since I said so. However, I am considering taking you up on your suggestion unless you prove that you have the ability to stand upright for more than a minute."

Merlin rolled his eyes and struggled to sit up. He began removing the heavy chain mail, breathing a deep sigh and closing his eyes for a moment. His destiny, aka Arthur, could be such a royal pain sometimes. Sometimes here meaning nine times out of ten.

A horse's neigh drew the attention of both boys to the road leading from the forest to Camelot. A small caravan drew into sight as they emerged from the trees. Though far in the distance, Merlin could make out a brown draft horse pulling a cart, five armed guards and a slight person, completely covered in a blue travelling cloak aboard a black horse. Arthur wrinkled his nose.

"Looks like our guest has arrived."

Merlin lurched to his feet, going to stand beside his master, "Guest? I didn't know we were expecting one. Who is it?"

The prince's voice dripped with disdain, "Morgana's second cousin five times removed or something of the like. She comes from the north, I guess she's either visiting for an extended period of time or…" Here he grimaced, "Living here as long as she wishes."

The dark haired warlock cocked his head and squinted his bright blue eyes to see the approaching party more clearly, specifically the blue cloaked rider. "And this is bad because…?"

Arthur turned to stare at his manservant, resignation in his eyes, "Nothing. Unless, god forbid, she's anything like Morgana."

The prince turned and walked back up towards the castle, sword tucked under his arm, "C'mon Merlin, we have to prepare for the welcoming feast."

"Yeah, be right there." Merlin turned and watched until his prince was out of sight before he faced once more towards the oncoming party. His eyes glowed gold as he magically magnified his sight and looked upon Morgana's cousin. As if she could sense his eyes upon her, the girl lifted her eyes from the road in front of her and to the hillside by the castle where Merlin stood.

She smiled.


	2. Lady Elaine

**Disclaimer: ** I don't own Merlin. *le sigh*

**A/N: **Thanks to my first two reviewers for their helpful suggestions! Cookies for them! -hands cookies-

Chapter 2: Lady Elaine

Once more forced into wearing the ceremonial costume of Camelot, Merlin stood disgruntled beside Gwen and Gaius, the feathered hat had conveniently been unavailable and he'd made no attempt to find it. Yet, he still felt ridiculous.

King Uther Pendragon stood and clapped his hands for silence, gesturing for Morgana to rise. "My lords and ladies, it does me great pleasure to present to you, Lady Elaine of Astolat, the cousin of our fair Lady Morgana."

The doors to the great hall swung open, and she walked down the main aisle between the tables toward the main table that held Arthur, Uther and Morgana.

Merlin couldn't take his eyes off of her.

She was nothing special, but yet she was. As tall as Morgana and slighter if that was even possible. Her skin was pale, paler than his own, her face delicately shaped, not sharp or angular, but gentle. Her hair was red-brown, more brown than red, and had a slight wave in contrast to Morgana's perfect curls. But it was her eyes that really captivated. They were a dark shade of green, flecked by brown and gold.

As Elaine passed them on her way to the high table, she looked up, meeting Merlin's eyes. A shadow of a smile crossed her lips before she looked away. Her light blue gown made a soft rustling sound as she crossed the hall, the gauze veil that covered her head floating behind her. A silver chain hung around her neck, disappearing into the neckline before the ornament was revealed.

After what seemed like a lifetime, she reached the high table. Genuine smiles graced both the girls' faces, and their embrace was warm and sisterly. Merlin glanced to the left and grinned at the look on Arthur's face, somewhere between disgust and despair.

"Welcome cousin, it has been far too long since we met."

"Indeed it has my dear Morgana. My sister sends her love and regrets that she could not be here also."

As the king started the applause and gestured to the place between himself and Morgana for Elaine to sit, Arthur caught Merlin's eye and waved him over to refill his cup, downed the contents and grimaced.

"It's going to be a long year Merlin. A very long year."

"They're exactly alike! And they finish each other's sentences! And worse, they giggle. All the time!"

Merlin stood facing Arthur, once more equipped with a sword and armor. He was only half listening for two reasons. One he was trying to watch where he stepped and keep an eye on his opponent's sword at the same time, and two, Arthur had been going on about how much more annoying Morgana had become now that her "…long lost twin sister, always whispering and going on about the most ridiculous things!" had arrived at Camelot, for the entire full day that Lady Elaine had been present.

As Arthur lunged and missed, getting more and more agitated as he went on thinking about the two girls who "…shouldn't have this much power over me! I don't even want to be thinking about them!"

Merlin ducked and sidestepped, stumbling over an uneven patch of ground but managing to keep his footing. The young warlock did not like the look that had just crossed his master's face and scrambled to get out of the way as Arthur swung his sword viciously, not paying attention to the proximity of the weapon to his manservant's head. Merlin threw his arm up to protect himself and the cold metal bit into his arm, throwing him to the ground.

"Merlin! Really, how you managed to survive the journey here without breaking your neck, I'll never be able to understand." Arthur's expression was pure annoyance, he had no idea that his sword had connected with the body of his servant.

"Oh Arthur stop it! Can't you see you've hurt him?"

Morgana's voice was sharp as she criticized the prince, disapproval in her eyes. Merlin saw, from his vantage point at their feet, Arthur's fingers flex as it around the girl's neck. He forced a slightly more pleasant look on his face as he turned to glare at Morgana.  
"Any other advice, My Lady?" His tone was filled with sarcasm and defiance.

"Oh Merlin, does it hurt very much? Arthur's such a bully."

The dark haired youth looked away from the potentially dangerous sight before his eyes to Gwen who was kneeling beside him, her dark eyes full of concern.

"Ah, no there's just a bit of blood. Really, its fine."

Merlin grinned up at her reassuringly, toning out the raising voices of Arthur and Morgana as they had their battle of wits.

"May I?"

The unfamiliar voice caused the boy to jump a bit as he looked for its source, near his right forearm.

Elaine had also knelt by his side. Her hair looked redder in the sunlight, or perhaps it was the dark green color of her dress and veil. When he looked at her she smiled and gestured to his arm. He nodded and allowed her to take his arm. As she looked over the wound, gentle fingers tracing it to determine the amount of damage, he thought he saw a glow in her dark eyes, but it faded to quickly for him to tell.

Their eyes met and she gave a reassuring smile, more for Gwen's benefit than his own.

"You'll survive. I'm Elaine by the way."

He took the hand she extended her left to accommodate his injury, and shook it, grinning.

"Merlin, Arthur's servant and physician's assistant. Thanks."

"FINE!"  
"FINE!!"

Their argument apparently come to an end, Arthur stalked over, grabbed Merlin by the shoulder and hauled him up.

"Go get that checked by Gaius so Morgana doesn't start some servant abuse campaign against me. Be back in my rooms in time to help me prepare for dinner."

With that, the prince stalked off in the opposite direction than the one Morgana had stormed off in. Merlin smiled apologetically at Elaine, offering a hand to help her up. She took it, smiled and turned to follow her cousin, pausing to wait for Gwen who also got a hand up from Merlin.

"Thanks, you're really sweet Merlin. Not that I think you're sweet, but I'm just saying that was a very…kind thing to do and-"  
Gwen cut off in mid sentence when he raised a bemused eyebrow at her.

"See you at dinner Gwen." He raised a hand in farewell as the girls moved to catch up to Morgana who was now stewing in anger by the pond.

Making to follow his master's instructions to see the healer, Merlin looked for a way to staunch the little bleeding that there was.

Except there wasn't any.

His arm which had borne the long, shallow gash minutes ago was completely unmarked.

Whirling around, Merlin looked at the retreating back of Elaine, astounded.


	3. Questions and Death

Disclaimer: Merlin = not mine.

A/N: My beloved readers, please accept my most sincere apologies for the lateness of this chapter. I auditioned for a musical and I got in so rehearsal and set painting and fun stuff like that are taking over my life again. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review, this story is probably my favorite that I've ever written, and I can promise that chapters will be up faster now that I have an outline and (kinda)know what's going to happen.

Cookies to all reviewers!!

Merlin sat at the table in the quarters he shared with Gaius, the court physician and his mentor. He was staring into the bowl of stew that was his dinner, since it wasn't a huge feast Arthur didn't require Merlin to be there to serve him, the normal kitchen staff could take care of that. The dark haired youth was thinking about what had happened earlier. The use of magic that he couldn't prove was unnerving. He had nothing against Elaine, indeed she was quite sweet and pretty. But on the flip side of that, Nimueh had also been sweet and pretty when she'd masqueraded as one of Bayard's servants, and Elaine was certainly a mystery. No one really knew where she'd actually come from. Sure she was, 'of Astolat' but her style of dress, hair and speech looked and sounded very little like that of the nearby town and lordship.

"Merlin, if you aren't going to eat it then just say so. Don't mope over it."

Gaius had entered the room, carrying a variety of herbs that had been delivered by one of the villagers. The warlock looked up at his mentor and gave a small smile before quickly scooping up a few bites of the stew.

"I'm just thinking Gaius."

He hesitated, unsure whether he should discuss his slight misgivings with the physician. Or if he should wait for nightfall and get help from someone who already knew what was going to happen.

---

Merlin trotted down the stairs and through the passageways to get to the large cave. Once he'd been sure that Gaius was asleep, he'd slipped out and navigated around the few people who were up this late. He wanted to avoid questioning that would almost certainly get him in trouble.

The passage opened up into the enormous cavern and the boy stepped neatly onto the ledge, looking about before calling out.

He could hear the dragon's voice before he could see it. The beast landed on a rock before him, a smile on its face, or as close to a smile as a dragon could get.

"Hello young warlock. I was wondering when I would be seeing you."

"I need to know about the lady Elaine. What is her part in this? If I'm to keep Arthur safe, it's vital that I know which side she's on."

The dragon shook his head.

"I cannot tell you everything, young one. What I can say is this: the young sorceress's presence brings you to a crossroads in time, one that will determine the end to your story."

Merlin shook his head, confused and frustrated at the cryptic messages. But he had two pieces of useable information now. Elaine was a sorceress, and she was part of the future. A crossroads the dragon had said.

"Trust your heart in this young warlock. The decisions that are made in these coming days can alter the outcome as it is known."

With his last message spoken, the dragon extended giant wings and soared off his perch into the depths of the cave. A thoroughly confused Merlin made his way back up to his rooms, and he puzzled over the dragon's message, not even realizing it when he fell asleep.

---

As the weeks progressed, Arthur became resigned to the presence of Elaine, and argued less with Morgana. This led to a lull in the lives of all five young people, and a cheerful camaraderie had sprung up between them.

Now they were preparing for a hunting trip and picnic. Merlin had noticed his master getting fidgety lately with the lack of new knights to train, attacks on the kingdom or tournaments, and when he'd said as much to Elaine and Morgana, they had agreed to go along on the little excursion.

Arthur rode first, Morgana easily keeping pace at his side. Gwen had been unable to join them, her father had needed help at the forge but she had urged them to go ahead without her. This meant that Merlin and Elaine were left to ride side by side as their companions raced ahead.

"Merlin?"

"Hmm?"

The warlock turned to look at the lady, dressed today in dark purple, still wearing a gauze veil of a lighter shade. Her dark green eyes were penetrating, and the look on her face was serious.

"I know what you are. And I'm sure you have your suspicions about me. But I promise you, I am not here to harm _anyone_."

The emphasis that she placed on the word _anyone_ caused a slight flush to come to his cheeks, it was as if she could read his mind. But he nodded and looked back to her with similar solemnity.

"I believe you."

Elaine smiled her sweet, mysterious smile, and the conversation was forgotten, the topics turning to more trivial things, the court gossip and remedies for various ills. It turned out that the Lady Elaine was rather adept at healing.

A while later, they caught up with Arthur and Morgana who were now arguing over whose arrow had brought down the rabbit that lay between them, forgotten on the ground in the heat of the fight. Merlin and Elaine met eyes and shook their heads, covering smiles and laughs as they began to set up the picnic by the riverbank.

As they finished their luncheon and told stories and continued with the court gossip, the sound of the waves changed. Something was coming towards them in the water.

They all looked at the river. A small boat was drifting along, no one appeared to be steering it in any way. Craning his neck to see better, Merlin saw that it was not empty, but that a woman lay inside as if sleeping. The other had noticed as well.

"Who is that?"

It was Arthur who had asked. Morgana and Merlin shook their heads, the group had stood and was slowly advancing toward the bank to get a better look.

The woman was deathly pale, dressed in a white gown with a black robe and veil. Her hair was a light red and possessed the same wave that Elaine's did.

"No. NO!"

Merlin whirled about in time to see Elaine dashing off through the woods, pursuing the craft as it made its way down the river, back towards Camelot.

"Elaine!"

He took off running after her, just managing to hear Morgana's gasp and muffled sobs.  
Merlin followed her, running on foot down to a point of land where the river widens and passes by Camelot. The boat was caught on the point and Elaine had waded out knee deep into the water, her hands now gripped the side of the craft, skirts floating out around her and she was crying over the body.

Merlin didn't say anything. He stepped into the water and made his way over to Elaine, wrapping his arms around her. She turned to him and continued to sob, pressing her face to his chest. He now understood.

On the prow of the boat, words were inscribed: "The Lady of Shalott".


	4. The Lady

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin

A/N: My darling reviewers and readers, I apologize once again for the terribly long wait. I have a good story as to why I have been so remiss in updating my little tale. Now is not the time, but my dears, it is terribly difficult to focus on writing with a broken nose and fingers. Enjoy the next installment, and please review, share your ideas and critiques, I love them all.

Three days Elaine had been shut away in her chambers. No one had seen or heard from her, not even Gwen who took meals to her in her seclusion.

The woman in the boat had been positively identified as Helena of Astolat, the Lady of Shalott. She had been given a state burial which all in Camelot had attended to mourn the young woman. After making her necessary appearance, all shrouded and veiled in black, Elaine had vanished into her apartments and not ventured forth.

Merlin had taken to wearing a path down the hall past her rooms, and more than once, Gaius or Gwen found him leaning against the doorway asleep. It was on one such night that she came.

Elaine sat in the chair, long hair spilling over her shoulders and down her back, unbound and uncovered. She seemed more of an apparition than a person, sitting in her white night gown with the silver-grey dressing gown loosely wrapped about her. Her posture was frozen and unmoving, a letter hung limply from her pale cold fingers. The only sign that this was not a statue misplaced were the green-gold eyes that simmered dangerously beneath the outward coldness.

A sudden wind blew through the chamber, whipping her hair and nightgown, and blowing the letter from her hands.

The woman's voice echoed through the room before the misty shade became an actual lady, dressed in deep blue with a similar veil covering her blonde hair. The blue eyes were kind, but at the moment, they held as much sadness as the Elaine's own.

"Elaine."

Elaine remained unmoving, not even her eyes flicking to acknowledge the presence of the woman who had not been there moments before.

"Elaine, look at me."

The girl finally moved, turning in her chair away from the moonlight that spilled in from the window. She stared at the lady, not in the way a normal person would, in fear or astonishment, but in pain and anguish.

"You knew this was to happen. You knew she had to die and that he was to kill her. You sacrificed her so that you might have her son to fulfill your plans."

It was not an accusation. Elaine stated it in a voice full of despair, but deep beneath it, there was an understanding.

The blonde woman moved toward her, the letter held loosely in one hand. An arm was wrapped around the girl's shoulders and the formerly comforting scent of rosemary, sage, and thyme closed upon her.

"We all knew, all understood that we would lose some to gain. I had hoped to find another way, but it has been thus and cannot be changed. Remember why you are here. Remember that it is how you choose to act, and what you choose to do that will decide the fate, not only of yourself and those close to you, but the fate of a kingdom, and therefore the entire world."

The blonde woman kissed Elaine's forehead and stood. Giving the girl a small smile, she waved and the letter burst into flames. Elaine watched it crumple into ashes, a single tear falling down her cheek.

"Thank you, Niniane. I shall do my duty, though I do long to return to you and our sisters and the isle."

She stood and rushed to the taller woman, wrapping her in a hug that unsettled her veil, revealing a silver half moon mark on her forehead. Niniane held Elaine for a moment before holding her at arm's length and looking her knowingly in the eye with a warm smile.

"Now, give that boy some peace of mind. He and the others have been worried about you. Until we meet again, my dear."

Niniane gave one more wave of the hand as she became a ghostly apparition, and then vanished all together.

Elaine gazed upon the spot that she had been for a minute before remembering the Lady of the Lake's last words to her before departing. A smile crossed her face and a flush rose in her cheeks as she started toward the door.

Though she meant to open it slowly and quietly, the door made a banging sound loud enough to startle a sleeping Merlin awake. Elaine smiled and knelt beside him. For a moment, he shook sleep from his eyes, then he wrapped her in his arms as if he'd never let go and Elaine settled in beside him, closing her eyes as he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, the faint silver half moon just barely shining in the light that came from a window at the end of the corridor.


End file.
